I just learned this morning that Joss Ackland, who played the Soviet ambassador here, died this week at age 95. I really like his sparring with Chief of Staff Pelt in the film.

The term "buckaroo" is American slang for "cowboy." It can also mean someone who has the potential to act wild, impulsive, and unpredictable if they're challenged, or perceive there is a threat.

In an interview Scott Glenn talks about how the studio arranged for him to spend time on an actual Los Angles Class sub, working with an actual attack boat skipper. The skipper ordered his crew to take Glenn's orders, and had him repeat his orders to the crew so Glenn could develop a command style and have experience giving actual orders.

33:01 That is Stellan Skarsgård, who you might have seen in the Avengers movies as the scientist guy Selvig, and he was also in Good Will Hunting as the mathematics professor who takes Matt Damon under his wings. It's also quite possible that you recognize "him" through one of this many actor sons, the most prominent I guess is Alexander Skarsgård (who's been in a lot), but in the last few years Bill Skarsgård played Pennywise the Clown in the movie "It" ..

The story is, Tom Clancy was interviewed by the CIA for having an interesting amount of knowledge about submarines and soviet doctrine. He actually got his information from public sources and then made some educated guesses. The story is based on a soviet warship that had a coup, but it was a surface vessel. One of the best movies for keeping you guessing and at the edge of your seat!

Fred Thompson, who played the American admiral who knew Jack’s backstory, was a congressional aide and conducted questioning during the Watergate hearings in 1973-4, and after acting for a bit, became a U.S. senator and presidential candidate, then returned to acting.

I love Alex Baldwins line in this film “I have to be careful about what I shoot at?!”

I was in the US Navy from 76-79 (active) and was a Sonar Technician...it's interesting to watch a movie AND understand what is being said (and not said). I was on a Destroyer but was trained for Submarine duty and techniques.

Jones only identified the Silent Propulsion because he happened to hear them transition from normal propellers. He heard the sub "disappear" with just a weird background noise in its place.

Back in the day I used to be a security guard, one time on an overnight job somebody left a copy of this book laying around. I must have read half the book in one go, it was so riveting.

When James Earl Jones' character in the film blows the torpedo 300 feet from impact, the audience cheered first time I saw this film in theaters. It was a real "hell yeah" moment.

I love that the teddy bear is listed in the kredits. His name is Stanley! 🧸

This movie was made when the cold war was still raging. Sean Connery and Alec Baldwin are amazing in this. You may recognize Sam Neill from Jurassic Park. James Earl Jones, the voice of Darth Vader, also makes an appearance. It’s one of those that puts you on the edge of your seat the entire time and keeps you guessing until the end.

16:48 As the captain of the Red October, Ramius is extremely aware of what the sub can do. Naval captains don’t just give orders and hope their ship can do it. I wouldn’t be surprised if Ramius had already done the calculations for 26 knots before he ordered the speed increase.

Stellan Skaarsgard who plays the captain of the Konavolov, more recently portrayed Boris Scherbina in HBO's Chernobyl as well as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen in the Dune film.

As a Scot, this is one of my favourite comedies . Sean Connery making absolutely zero effort to do more than the stereotypical Russian accent you could find any Scot doing in a pub, cracks me up every time.

James Earl Jones has had so many great performances that outshined his role as the voice of Vader. Dr. Strangelove, The Great White Hope, Conan the Barbarian, Soul Man, Coming to America, FIELD OF DREAMS, and many more. As actors go, he is a national treasure.

The ship that shot over the sub is an Oliver Hazard Perry Class Guided Missile Fast Frigate. They were the work horse of the US Navy in the late 70's thru the very early 90's. Great tough little ships. Those ships were designed for anti-submarine warfare and other missions. I was a sailor who served aboard one in mid thru late 80's. The Cold War was tense on the seas.

6:18 Sean Connery from "The Rock" is also Indiana Jones's dad and was the first James Bond. He also stars in "The Untouchables", a popular true crime movie with Kevin Costner. 7:07 You only recognized Tim Curry from "Rocky Horror", but you missed everyone else. 8:57 - That's James Earl Jones, he's the voice of Darth Vader and he's the writer in "Field of Dreams". 6:40 - Jeffrey Jones, he was the dad in "Beetlejuice". But I guess you saw that after this. He's also in "Amadeus" and is best known as the principal in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off". 5:12 - Sam Neill, he was the main character in "Jurassic Park", the paleontologist/dinosaur scientist. 15:41 - Scott Glenn, he was Jodie Foster's boss in "The Silence of the Lambs". He was also in "Apocalypse Now". 13:18 - Stellan Skarsgård was Boris in "Chernobyl", the second main character/politician guy. He was also the mathematician who worked with Matt Damon in "Good Will Hunting". 4:48 - The black sonar technician is Courtney B. Vance. He played Johnnie Cochran, O.J. Simpson's lawyer in the first season of "American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson" if you saw that. John McTiernan who directed this also directed "Die Hard" and "Predator". He also directed "Die Hard 3" and "Last Action Hero", a great parody of action movies starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.

I love that you suspected Frank-N-Furter as the saboteur, LOL

Mary I wish you had shown the scene of Admiral Painter explaining Ryan’s background to Charlie the Captain of the Enterprise. It’s a great character development moment for Ryan. Up until this scene we as the audience simply thought Ryan was merely a highly educated CIA analyst. In this moment we find out that he is a US Naval Academy (i.e. Annapolis) graduate just like the Admiral and the Captain. But because of his injury he was never able to serve his country like they did. So Ryan joined the CIA to try and do his part. Ryan has definitely earned the right to be in uniform. Also you should note Ryan graduated Annapolis as a commissioned officer in the Marine Corps. The Marine Corps is US military service branch known for boldness and bravery. They are also called Leathernecks or Devil Dogs. These qualities came out when the helicopter pilot told Jack they had to leave due to low fuel. I’ve known a lot of Marines and they are never hesitant to raise their voice when necessary.

I did a ten year stint in the US Submarine Service...the fast attack life of course. This movie is my favorite sub movie next to Down Periscope

My first introduction to the characters Jack Ryan and James Greer. Love this movie so much. My favorite line comes from Ramius. "Personally, I give us one chance in three. More tea gentlemen?"

This is one of the few movies I can watch over and over again. Simply love it. Especially Sean Connery.

Another submarine movie for your consideration is _Crimson Tide_ (1995) starring Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman.

This movie completely took me by surprise. I went with one of my friends to see this at the movies not really knowing nothing about it. It blew my mind. Loved it loved it loved it. I didn't hesitate to go see Patriot Games when it followed a few years later. And man, I sure wasn't disappointed... You'll love the others in this series. Although not about submarines, the next two does star Harrison Ford. :)

In your outro, you asked how Jones figured out the Russian caterpillar drive, and why the Russians didn't make it harder to figure out. Jones had an advantage that could not be prevented. He was right there when the Red October turned on the caterpillar drive. Jones heard the regular engines go silent. That should be impossible, more or less, unless the Red October just stopped and sat there doing nothing. But then he heard two other things: 1. A weird noise that was moving away. He didn't know what it was. 2. Russian singing that was also moving away at the same speed and direction. Put all that together, and he knew the Red October turned off the normal engines and turned on something else and was moving away, and that something else must be that sound he heard. So he isolated and filtered it and listened to it trying to figure out what it was, but was unable to figure THAT out on his own. After all, he's a sonar guy, not a mechanical engineer. But he DID figure out how to recognize it when he hears it again. Yeah, he's a smart cookie. But it's not entirely amazing; just a smart guy doing his job well, who got EXTREMELY lucky to be in the one place in that whole wide ocean where he could hear all that at the same time.

Mary, of course you are still a really young woman, but as someone who has watched your reactions for a long time it's so interesting to see you growing, starting a family, gaining confidence and maturity. I'm so happy for you.

Yasss, one of my favourite submarine films. After Das Boot of course. Another good submarine film is "K-19 The Widowmaker" (2002), with Harrison Ford. Loosely based on a true story.

I don't know exactly why but I've always loved this movie. I'm pretty sure every time I've randomly come across this movie I'll start watching no matter where it is in the movie and i always finish it. This is definitely one of my all time favorites.

I love this movie so much. My family quotes it all the time.

Actor Scott Glenn was a busy man back then. In 1989 he made "The Hunt for Red October" and "The Silence of The Lambs" back-to-back. USS Dallas Commander Bart Mancuso and then FBI Agent Jack Crawford.

If you want to watch another great submarine film watch "Crimson Tide" (1995 )with Gene Hackman and Denzel Washington.

If you read the book, you'll get the backstory on many things, such as: - How Ramius' wife died, and why that drove him to do the things he did; - More of the interplay between the two ambassadors, and how Pelt (the American ambassador) knew his counterpart was lying; - The apathy of Soviet workers, and how that might have led to a very different outcome for the book if not for a "negligent flick of the wrist." If you choose to read the book, you'll find it's so much better than the movie (and the movie was WAY beyond good).

I love how Sam Neil's characters last words were "I would like to have seen Montana" and the same actors first scene in Jurassic Park were set in Montana

Clancy got quite a bit correct in this story: In the 1960's, a new Soviet submarine DID up & vanish in front of an American submarine. It wasn't a silent propulsion system, though - it was the fact that for the first time, a submarine's outer hull had been encased in a coat of rubber, which effectively kept all internal noise sithin the submarine. "Crazy Ivan's" are a real thing: there have been several underwater collisions between American and Soviet/Russian submarines, sometimes causing extensive damage! The Soviet Union was famous for not letting the outside world know ANYTHING about what they had going on (unless they were bragging about something): had a nuclear sub captain decided to defect and take the boat with him, they really would have asked if we could help sink it.

The word underrated gets thrown around a lot on reactions but for this film it's deserved The Hunt for Red October is easy a 9/10 it's well written , acted, the score is great and the pacing is on point at no point are you bored. Whenever I see it on TV I'll quite happily sit and watch

The actor who is the captain of the Soviet sub pursuing the Red October is Stellan Skarsgard. He has been in plenty of movies. The most recent is the “Dune” series.

"I would have liked to have seen Montanna." Been there once, last year. Big Sky, Montanna. It was snowing. It's the most beautiful place I have ever seen.

29:20 "Now, understand, Commander, that torpedo did not self-destruct. You heard it hit the hull. And I... [showing identification] ... was never here.

There’s a hilarious little tribute to this movie in the Mass Effect video games. Joker, the pilot of the Normandy (space ship) is using the Normandy’s “stealth drive” to approach an enemy ship, and says the enemy won’t know they’re there “unless we all start singing the Russian national anthem”. 😎

Amazing movie with a great cast. The action really keeps you at the edge of your seat! If you like submarine movies, you might enjoy The Enemy Below, a vintage classic from 1957. It takes place during WWII and describes the duel between a German submarine and an American destroyer. This movie is old but aged gracefully!

The magnificent Stellan Skarsgård plays Captain Tupolev. This man deserves a Lifetime Achievement Oscar his many fantastic performances.

Many reactors struggle to follow this movie's plot line and are simply confused by it all. I'm impressed with how quickly you picked up on the key points of the plot and followed what's happening, even guessing some things ahead of time. Some minor points I might make :- (1) whilst Admiral Greer was indeed from a Navy background, don't forget he is now a "spy" high up in the CIA. So not a surprise for him to do sneaky stuff like "...and I was never here". (2) Ramius is a teacher so can't stop himself from pushing his students to test their limits and make them better officers eg "increase speed to 26 kts and recompute". (3) Ramius is also a scholar and student of history, eg. the Cortez story. Even when they are in the middle of a battle, he can't help but quiz Ryan about his book. And he knows his stuff - "Halsey acted stupidly". Indeed he did, racing after Ozawa's Northern force with ALL his fast battleships, leaving the little ships of Taffy-3 to pay the price.

This is in my top 10 favorite movie ever and i bought finally a blu ray last week and rewatched again. What a movie! Love it.

Please continue with Star Trek.

What a great movie! My dad and I saw it in the theater when I was just a teenager.

You saw Alec Baldwin in Beetlejuice. He was the ghost husband. In fact, the scene where they are first talking about the caterpillar drive also has the guy who played the father in Beetlejuice as well. The Jack Ryan character is a main character written by Tom Clancy. Some other films with the same character (although played by different actors) are Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, and The Sum of All Fears.

Admiral Greer is played by James Earl Jones, who voiced the character of Darth Vader in that little known 1970s movie, Star Wars.

Great movie, great reaction. More movies you should watch that not every other reactor watches: *Medicine Man* Sean Connery *The Edge* Alec Baldwin *U-571* submarine

The choir is awesome. It's its own character.

I laughed so hard at the Hiya Georgie reveal of Tim Curry. ✌🏽

Ahhh, Mary out here watching my favorite movie. Fantastic. A birthday present a week early.

Having read the book first, this was such a loyal reflection. Tom Clancy wrote it without basing it on any one story. The book was written in the early 80s so it was filled with a lot of the paranoia of the day. The movie came out as Glasnost was ongoing and around the time the Iron Curtain had fallen so it was very much a child of the era for sure. This movie shines in ways the successor Patriot Games does not (as far as meeting the message of the novel)

5:12 LMAO the Jurassic Park music for Sam Neill😂 Also I bet the book is phenomenal

The other Russian sub commander is Stellan Skarsgård. He's been in a ton of movies (Good Will Hunting, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo)

It is a fantastic novel. The science and engineering is so accurate Tom Clancy was pulled in for questioning about his source. They thought he must have had access to classified information which fortunately was not the case. Highly recommend it if you have time for a read. It also does not track the movie very closely so I think it is fair to say they are two very similar but different stories.

One of the few movies that was almost as good as the novel. Yes radiation would be a fear in a nuke powered sub. Really a testament to the navies that have nuke powered subs and in US case nuke powered carriers that they’ve been so safely employed in warships in harsh sea environs. “Some things in here don’t react too well to bullets.” Mary notes the open hallway but pretty sure Ramius was referring to the dozens of nuclear missiles in that compartment. 😅 Another great modern submarine movie with Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman: Crimson Tide. Less complex but raises great questions as the antagonists both have a valid point. Check it out! To really appreciate Sean Connery you have to watch his early work as James Bond. You were wondering how Ramius got officers to be in on the defection but remember he is the “Vilnius schoolmaster,” who trained most of their submarine officer corps. Oh, and definitely feet on the depth gauge. Freedom boats use freedom measurements! 😂

When the book and the movie came out, I was still employed by one of those “ three letter agencies”. One day a VIP contingent from the Joint Chiefs of Staff was in the SCIF visiting our production area and noticed that my friend had the book on his desk. One admiral turned to another and said “I see this young man is working with materials classified at the highest level“.

We should never forget the name Vasii Arkhipov, the man that saved the world from a nuclear holocaust. Arkhipov was the second officer on Soviet Nuclear Sub B-29 during the Cuban Missile crisis in 1962. The captains of the subs (there were 4 in the area) were ordered to act on their own if they were out of communication with Moscow for more than 24 hours. B-29 was out of touch because they were submerged due to US warships trying to bring them to the surface for identification. The captain and political officer decided that war had been declared and they should fire their nuclear weapon. It took all 3 votes to launch. Arkhipov convinced the captain not to launch, instead surface and contact Moscow. They surfaced to later find out that the crisis has been averted. A nuclear launch by B-29 would have triggered a nuclear exchange. So on this American Thanksgiving I'd like to thank Vasili Arkhipov. It's not just the US that has a day of Thanksgiving. Quite a few countries do, even a region in the Netherlands I think. So even if your country does not have a day of Thanksgiving we can all be thankful that we don't glow in the dark. HAPPY THANKSGIVING.

Ohh this was a longer post-movie talk than your usual! Are you going to be doing this for all future reactions? I love listening to other people's thoughts on the movie after seeing it as a whole so this was great!

Great movie and a great show about the paranoia during the Cold War. I also remember listening to the soundtrack on a Discman. I had the Russian crew singing on repeat while reading a book series so long until the Dscman died on me.

8:57 That's James Earl Jones, and his highest profile performance is probably as the voice of Darth Vader. :) So while you might have missed many of his movies, that voice will certainly ring a bell.

Sean Connery's Russian accent is impeccable 😉

4 years later we are introduced to Sam Neills character in Jurassic Park at a dinosaur excavation in ..... Montana ;)

The actor for Captain Tupolev is named Stellan Skarsgård, you might know him from the HBO series Chernobyl, Dune, Andor, Thor, or The Pirates of the Caribbean Saga. He is also the father of Bill Skarsgård, the actor who played Pennywise the Dancing Clown from IT. Fun fact most of the Skarsgård family can do that creepy Pennywise smile, except for, I believe Sam Skarsgård

The Jurassic Park music playing over Sam Neil. 😂 “They do move in herds.”

I've always had fond memories of this movie, it's pretty cool for its time. I'm so happy to see that you got so much into the story and had fun!

Alternate ending - Connery and Baldwin - " Jack, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." (as in Casablanca)

On a navy ship, the captain is an absolute authority. His word goes, always.

Connery was the original James Bond. He also played in the original 'Highlander'. And Alec Baldwin was in the tv-series '30 Rock'.

speaking of different actors. I am impressed by the actor "Jason Isaacs". He was actually in two movies i had seen many times and i had no idea it was him. I only found out by looking at a list of films he did. The two stand outs were "Blackhawk Down" (played bald headed Capt Steele) and the other (that also had Matt Damon) was "Green Zone". The character played by Isaacs was a special ops guy. Jason Issacs lterally "disappeared" in those two roles

The historical background to Tom Clancy's novel, The Hunt For Red October, is that in the mid-1970s the enlisted crew of a Soviet navy ship tried to sail to Norway to escape the USSR. But because of the compartmentalization of information, enlisted personnel could only run the engines at half power. All the officers were ashore when the enlisted guys made a break for Norway, but sadly, the ship was intercepted and captured. Someone wrote a Master's Degree thesis about the event, which Tom Clancy apparently read, and it became the inspiration for his novel and this movie. Also, it helps to have read the book first. I read the book long before the movie was made, as did so many others. Tom Clancy was very popular right from the beginning of his writing career.

"How long before Remius could launch his missiles at us." The actual answer was... at any point, really.

soooh good to see a movie with you again! heard you were married, 'Blest Wishes' (always 'congradulate' the groom and offer 'Blest Wishes' to the bridge). "Hunt for Red October" is my favorite movie of all time! this was Baldwin's first movie. and this first Tom Clancy novel featuring super patriot 'Jack Ryan'. Harrison Ford played him, as well as other actors. glad you liked it.

I was a sophomore ROTC engineering student and saw this with classmates at a Saturday matinee. It was incredible. I love this film.

Tom Clancy, who wrote the book that this is based on, always did a tremendous amount of research before writing his books. Pretty much every movie that has been made based on his books has been excellent and very much cemented in reality.

John Mc Tiernan... He gave un some amazing movies... PREDATOR, Die Hard, The Hunt Ford Red October. There are a Lot of movies about submarinos, but I think this is the Best. Great cast. Tension, Suspense. Perfect in allá ways

My father was stationed in Greenland to monitor Soviet subs in the 1950s. He loved this movie.

6:41 That’s actor *Jeffrey Jones,* he’s in *Beetlejuice* with *Alec Baldwin,* he’s also the Principal in *Ferris Bueller’s Day Off* and he’s a registered sex offender in real life.

Tom Clancy writes a lot of military fiction, the weird thing is that he has a lot of military expert contacts he uses to get things close to reality. And sometimes he comes too close as he has been investigated multiple times by the CIA because his stories might have gotten too close to top secret reality.

This is a fine Cold War movie that checks all the boxes of your typical U.S. vs. USSR conflict. Another good Cold War movie in which a submarine also features prominently is Ice Station Zebra, starring Rock Hudson, Ernest Borgnine and Patrick McGoohan.

I love this movie. Your reaction video really did it justice, as you were so drawn into the story just as you were supposed to be.

I served onboard a US Los Angeles class submarine. Back over a decade ago, we would take crew members' family out on a short cruise. We were stationed in Honolulu so it was easy. We would take them to Maui for a day. During the trip we would do angles and dangles. It was a task to check the integrity of the submarine. We would take a 30 down angle and then up a 30 angle. We would announce ahead of time. Parents would put their children or themselves holding an infant to slide down the corridor. Then sometimes we would do an emergency blow. That's when we release all the air from the ballast tanks that control the ship. The boat would suddenly rocket through the water and fly out of the water to crash down again on top. One time, I was running aft because I was the machinery division officer to check up. An old machinery master chief was walking, too. He grasped the railing walking sideways. I ran past him. After I past him, the boat initiated the emergency blow, I slipped and fell on my butt and crashed into the door between forward and aft of the boat. Luckily, I didn't hit my head on the way down. The crew and I laughed about it as they made fun of me. It was just camaderie as they had no ill intent. It was a story they could share with newcomers about the danger of running while an emergency blow was happening. There was a horn that sounded before hand to let every one know. I still smile as I share this story. I just remembered I saw whales, too, while in Maui. I had gotten to topside as I was on duty. The other officers had gone to shore. I was sitting topside and a whale went by, surfaced and blow a horn of water. I didn't get wet but it was to nice to see and hear as the whale made its song before diving down.

I think this is the film I first noticed Stellan Skarsgard in.

Alec Baldwin's character in this has been played by multiple different people over the years. Harrison Ford has played him twice in Clear and Present Danger and Patriot Games. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck have each played him once. john Krazinski (Sp?) (from The Office) recently portrayed him in a 4 Season Amazon show simply called Jack Ryan.

"Verify our dishtanche to the enemy... One ping only..." Best line ever. lol

So glad you enjoyed this. Take a watch at Crimson Tide. Gene Hackman and Denzel Washington amongst a star studded cast.

34:34 Love the empathy.

Jack's boss is played by James Earl Jones. He was the voice of Darth Vader as well as Mufasa in the Lion King. He played Eddie Murphy's father in Coming to America, and also played in Field of Dreams. He's a classically trained actor and has and extensive body of work on stage as well as the screen. His role in Hunt For Red October is one of my favorites of him. The one movie he wasn't in that I wish he was is The Color Purple.

So you discovered the first Jack Ryan movie. I think all the movies about this fictional character invented by Tom Clancy are great. You should definitely see more of these. I recommend either "Patriot Games" (a two-parter) with Harrison Ford as Jack Ryan, or "The Sum of All Fears" with Ben Affleck playing Jack Ryan.

The admiral, James Earl Jones, the voice of Darth Vader. ICYDK

"I feel like this guy makes a lot of decisions on his own" Well, he is the Captain...

It's rare to see someone who watches the movie while it's still suspense at the beginning just what Remius is up to, and you're supposed to think he's planning a missile launch until Ryan figures it out

US submariners also hate that people call their boat a ship. Submariners are proud that it's a boat to distinguish themselves from the surface fleet. It's a boat because there's only one screw. Also, submarines also like to be called sub mareeners and not sub mariners. It sounds like that one's been made fun of.

Wonderful reaction Mari, I really enjoyed listening to your mind work as you watched this Cold War thriller.. Thanks so much.

8:57 "I know him as well, right? Where from?" That's James Earl Jones. He's been in lots of things, but the only ones I see in your archives: he was the voice of Darth Vader throughout the Star Wars franchise. (He was also the voice of King Mufasa in Disney's animated film The Lion King, and he was seen in Field of Dreams, starring Kevin Costner, and Coming to America, starring Eddie Murphy.)

One of my favorite movies. It was so cool on the big screen. Nice choice ✌️💜

I'm so glad you enjoyed this! It's a favorite of mine.

Tom Clancy has said that the Hunt for Red October was inspired by a real soviet mutiny in the 1970's. A Soviet officer was disillusioned with the Soviet Unions government, and wanted to create a new revolution, so he planned to steal a navy missile frigate with a number of other officers loyal to him and sail it to Leningrad in the hopes of inspiring a Leninist uprising. A large Soviet naval deployment was mobilised to hunt them down and they were eventually apprehended in the Baltic Sea, off the south coast of Sweden.